FW 800/400 speed

I have a new 3.06 iMac that I am using Logic Expres 8 on. I need to know if I use a firewire 400 interface for mics (Presonus FP10)in the 400 port, will it slow down a FW800 hard drive that I will be using for recording on that is plugged into the 800 port. If it does, I won't wast the money for an FW800 HD.

The iMac has a Firewire 800 port and a Firewire 400 port. I would put the FW800 HD on the 800 port and the Presonus firewire mic interface would be plugged into the Firewire 400 port. What I have heard is that both the 800 and 400 ports on the iMac are on the same buss and that haveing somthing plugged into the 400 port would limit or reduce the speed of the 800 port to 400.

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Thunderbolt and FireWire 800 / 400

Hey gang!
I have a 2011 MacMini and a theoretical question. I have a FW800 external drive connected to it for my TimeMachine backup. I also have a FW400 audio capture box I use from time to time.
I used to chain the drive and audio device, but that slows the FW chain to 400 speeds instead of 800. If I connect the FW800 drive directly to the Mac mini, and the FW400 audio capture box to the Mac min via the Thunderbolt-to-FW800 adaptor(via a small 800-to-400 converter plug), will that slow the whole bus down to 400, or will they work at independent speeds?
I assume the Thunderbolt and FW chips are indepent and that the would NOT slow down speeds, but I would like to hear a more technical answer to my question.
Thank you in advance.

Apple sells a Thunderbolt to Firewire 800 cable here. Connect directly to your external drive with this cable, and the FW400 audio capture box (with adapter) to the Mini's FW800 port.

Canon GL2 and Belkin 800/400 9-pin to 4-pin firewire cable not working!!!

I have my Canon GL2 connected to my I-Mac OSX version10.7.3 with a Belkin 800/400 9-pin to 4-pin firewire cable and the computer is not acknowledging the camera or firewire cable. Trying to get footage into Final Cut Pro 10 off mini dv tape.

Please use:
http://help.apple.com/finalcutpro/cameras/en/index.html?
to see if your GL2 is supported. Also you probably should also post int eh Final Cut Pro forums.

I have my Canon GL2 connected to my I-Mac OSX version10.7.3 with a Belkin 800/400 9-pin to 4-pin firewire cable not working!!

I have my Canon GL2 connected to my I-Mac OSX version10.7.3 with a Belkin 800/400 9-pin to 4-pin firewire cable and the computer is not acknowledging the camera.

While holding the option key, click the  in the menu bar and select System Information. Select Firewire in the Hardware section and see if your camera shows up as a connected Firewire device. If not, then you have one of three basic problems:
     1. Defective Firewire cable
     2. Defective Firewire port on computer
     3. Defective Firewire port on camcorder
Rule out any of the above by trying a different cable, Firewire device (like a hard drive) or try your camcorder/cable on a different/friend's computer.
If you suspect a Firewire port problem on your computer, you can try resetting it by shutting down and disconnecting the power cable to the computer. Wait for 30 minutes and plug back in and startup. You can also try resetting Parameter RAM (PRAM) on the iMac. (Apple's Instructions for reseting PRAM)

External iSight mic not working with facetime. Snow Leopard, mac mini w/ firewire v1.0.2, 800/400 firewire adapter

External iSight camera connected via Firewire adapter 800/400 to a Mac Mini running Snow Leopard - a visual signal comes up for iChat and FaceTime, only sometimes does a video signal comes up for PhotoBooth, always no sound for any of the applications. System Preferences "Sound" shows "Input Level" set around 75%, however only periodically do I see blue bar move, almost like a short in the cable, but the adapter is new. Firewire firmware is v1.0.2. Tried to use firewire updater to get 1.0.3, but updater won't update for Snow Leopard. For being advertized as the world's most advanced OS, seems like Apple OS could at least work with Apple External iSight camera ! Any help much appreciated on fixing the missing sound.

This means that my Firewire 400 ports on the display are no longer supported by the computer?
They need a FireWire connection to the computer. With older computers, the FireWire cable from the display would plug in to a computer FW400 port to provide the connection. With FW800 only computers, you need the adapter.

HT5299 Thunderbolt-Can you use an adaptor From a thunderbolt External drive to a firewire 800/400 Mac

Thunderbolt-Can you use an adaptor From a thunderbolt External drive to a firewire 800/400 Mac

No. The Thunderbolt to Firewire adapters only work to connect a Firewire drive to a Thunderbolt port. They do not work in reverse, to connect a Thunderbolt-only drive to a Firewire port. If the only port your drive has is a Thunderbolt port and all you have on the Mac is Firewire, you can't use that drive with that computer.
Regards.

Hub Firewire 800/400

I was surprised to find out that my new Imac (3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo) has only one Firewire port (FW 800). I have one Lacie external HD which has FW 800 and 400 through which I can chain other external FW 400 HD. My problem is that I can't chain my camera or a DV recorder, neither my external DVD burner. What do you think I could do : maybe buy a Firewire Hub, but does a FW 800+400 Hub exist ?
My DVD burner is FW 400 6pin/6pin
My DV recorder is FW 400 6pin/6pin
Thanks for answering

FireWire 800 hubs are currently expensive. If that FireWire 800 drive has a FireWire 400 daisy-chain port, perhaps you can get a less expensive FireWire 400 hub and connect it to that daisy-chain port. That would give the FireWire 800 device the benefit of a direct connection, and since your other FireWire devices are currently 400, you can connect them to that hub with no 9-pin to 6-pin adapter needed.
Just an idea... Here's an example of a FireWire 400 hub
[Belkin FireWire 6-Port Hub|http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-FireWire-6-Port-Hub-F5U526-APL/dp/B0006BHCEK/r ef=sr11?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1244117766&sr=8-1]
Be sure to get one that is self-powered (has its own power adapter).

Finding a 800/400 firewire cable

I bought a new macbook pro yesterday. I would have liked to get a macbook with the new graphics, but alas, no firewire for my audio interface.
So I look around the apple store for a 800/400 firewire cable. No dice.
I call Best Buy.
Fry's.
University book store.
Circuit City.
So I'm a little annoyed and waiting a few days to do any music on my computer. Hasn't firewire 800 been out for 5+ years?
If apple taketh away, shouldn't they giveth me a cable (to buy of course!!).
Anyone have any ideas where I could buy this in person?

I needed a 9 pin firewire 800 to a 4 pin firewire 400 to connect my video camera to my MBP. Apple showed me a $20 cable they had that would need an adapter that they did not sell so I would have had to get that elsewhere.
I went to monoprice.com and got a cable that did not need an adapter and paid $5 and change and that even included the shipping. Check online and I am sure you will find the cable you are looking for.

Help! two firewire 400 to one 800. both really need the 400-speed.

I've got the iMac with firewire800 and need to use both my m-audio interface and my liquid mix.
they are both fw400-devices
the liquid can be connected through the m-audio, but that is not enough for all data. the liquid and the m-audio really needs separate 400-connectors.
will a *good firewire-hub* do the job?
what can I do if not? buy mac pro? (quite expensive)
iMac 24
Focusrite Liquid mix
M-audio Profire 2626

My devices are all just drives. I have not seen any slow down due to using a hub (compared to separate ports), but I have not intentionally set up conditions where I am writing files to more than one drive at the same time either.
If the two devices interact with each other (data goes directly from one drive to the other), then I think the hub would be better because each device is connected equally to the Mac (more like using a Mac with two ports). If only one device is being accessed at any given time, then it probably does not matter too much if they are on the hub or daisy-chained.
In my case, if I was reading data from one drive and writing it to the other drive, I think it would be better to have the two drives connected to the hub (versus one drive being daisy-chained to the other). But if I was reading data from the internal drive and writing it to one (not both) of the external drives, then it would not matter too much how they are connected.
Hopefully, someone else with experience using devices like yours will pop by to provide some info.

Firewire 800 & 400 ports

HI,
I have an iMac 24" which has two Firewire ports in the rear (and 800 & a 400).
I have an external LaCie 250gb drive connected to the 400 port. I also have a Panasonic miniDV camera which successfully connects via this port, however at the expense of unplugging the LaCie.
I wish to use both at the smae time via FCE.
Wikipedia seems to suggest that the 800 format is backwards compatible with 400.
So my question is, will my LaCie drive & Panasonic camcorder operate through the 800 port using the correct cable (assuming these come with the 4 pin end for the camcorder).
Thanks
Eric
macbook Mac OS X (10.4.8) white & shiny & brandnew

Hi Eric,
Ian is correct.
I have a MBP w/1 FW 400 port and 1 FW 800 port, and I use a 400->800 converter.
I think the converter was my first purchase after I got the MBP. I couldn't find info at the time if there was any advantage to use the camera or HD with either port, so I figured a converter would give me max flexibility to check it out for myself.
My experience now is that it doesn't make any difference. That matches what I've read that if two or more FW devices plugged into the Mac, the data flows at the speed of the slowest device; it doesn't make any difference which port it's connected to.
To do it again, I would just buy a cable with the 800 plug on one end, and a 400 plug (either 4-pin or 6-pin) on the other end. Reason is the converter is just one more thing to keep track of, and, because it's about 1.5 inches long, I think it puts a bit more strain on the Mac's 800 port.
MBP 17" w/max memory; and a G4 that's considering retirement Mac OS X (10.4.8) FCS, CS2 pkg

800, 400 or USB2

Which is faster, Firewire 400, Firewire 800, or USB2, I am looking into buying an external HDD and I would prefer to not use USB, but if USB is faster I will go for it regardless.
Does anyone have any idea?

In theory, USB "should" be faster than Firewire 400, but in reality, Firewire 400 is faster than Hi-Speed USB 2.0. The USB number of 480Mbps as compared to 400Mbps is "perceived" speed.
Here's why:
Firewire uses a "Peer to Peer" architecture in which the peripherals are intelligent and can negotiate bus conflicts to determine which device can best control a data transfer.
Hi-Speed USB 2.0 uses a "master slave" architecture in which the computer handles all arbitration functions and dictates data flow to, from and between the attached peripherals (adding additional system overhead and resulting in slower data flow control).
Using the same external hard drive on a read test resulted in these comparisons:
5000 files (300 MB total) Firewire was 33% faster than USB 2.0
160 files (650 MB total) Firewire was 70% faster than USB 2.0
In the write test:
5000 files (300 MB total) Firewire was 16% faster than USB 2.0
160 files (650 MB total) Firewire was 48% faster than USB 2.0
IMO, you could get an external HDD with both Firewire and USB 2.0, if you are transferring files between computers.
Obviously, if you want the speed, then 800 would be the way to go, especially if the files are large video files and such.

Firewire imac desktop-pc bilingual (800 - 400)?

Can I connect a cable from the iMac firewire 400 to firewire 800? Is the firewire connection of desktop pc bilingual?

Yes you simply need a cable like this one from Amazon. You can find them at any Radio Shack, Best Buy, Fry's, Walmart, etc...
http://www.amazon.com/Oyen-Digital-Firewire-1394B-Cable/dp/B0027DPM1U/ref=sr_1_1 ?ie=UTF8&qid=1328460917&sr=8-1
bilingual refers to a language so I'm slightly confused by your comment. If you are asking if you can migrate information using a Firewire 400 to 800 cable from your PC to a Mac the answer is yes. You can also use How to Use Migration Assistant From PC to Mac 10.7 Lion for additional information.

Mix firewire 800 & 400 hard drives

I am getting a new 21.5". I now have a 20" (firewire 400).
I have a G-RAID2 with 2 800 and one 400 firewire ports. I also have a G-Drive 400 which I use for Time Machine.
On the new iMac, I will connect the G-RAID2 with a 800 cable. But then, should I connect the G-Drive into the 400 port of the G-RAID2, or the 800 port via 6 to 9 pin adapter? Or doesn't it matter?
Thanks...
Rick

Just spent quite a while in the Final Cut Express and Final Cut Pro discussion group and the video guru Tom Wolsky (I hope that's the correct last name) has pretty much instilled the fear of the Lord in me with regard to daisy-chaining a Canon HV20 camcorder wiith my external Rocstor FW800 drives.
The safest thing many people say is to connect any Firewire camcorder directly to the computer and not daisy-chain it. Even adamant about removing any other Firewire connections on the same computer using the computers' Firewire ports (Firewire cards okay on Mac Pros) as they share the same Firewire bus. Also strongly recommends turning off Time Machine as well so no interruptions to the time critical importing of video. That means on the iMac, I'll temporarily remove the Firewire hard disks and import to the internal iMac drive. I don't want to risk screwing up the video import or worse, the external hard drives...

Using Nikon Super Cool Scan 8000ED through 800/400 firewire converter

I have a Nikon Super CoolScan 8000 ED that I am trying to use with my iMac quad-core i5 running Snow Leopard. The only connection coming out of the scanner is Firewire 400. I purchased a Firewire 400/800 adapter and plugged it into the Firewire 800 port on the iMac. There is no response from the computer, it doesn't even seem to be able to detect that the scanner is connected at all.
I have downloaded the driver from Nikon, and it appears to be installed on the computer.
Any suggestions? -J.

People have had a lot of problems with FW400/FW800 plug adapters. Better to use a cable with a 6-pin FW connector on one end and 9-pin FW connector on the other. Here is the cable I use and it works perfectly.
Make sure you can 'see' the scanner in +System Profiler > Hardware > Firewire.+ If the scanner shows up there, then any scanning app should be able to access the scanner.
Also, what driver did you download from Nikon? There is no driver needed for this scanner on OS X. Did you download & install Nikon Scan (4.0 or 4.0.2)? You don't need it - it's not a driver, it's a scanning app and it was never updated for Snow Leopard; only a lucky few seem to have been able to get NikonScan working on Snow Leopard.
Download a copy of Vuescan - it works great with the Nikon scanners.

Firewire 800 - 400 , Target

Hi everyone,
simple question ( I hope ). I have an old Macbook ( Black ) & now getting a New Macbook Pro 13in, as you can now buy a cable with Firewire 800 at one end & 400 at the other is it possible to Target my Black Macbook with my New Macbook ? Does anyone know this answer ?
Many thanks
Steve

I have a Black Macbook at present, I am getting ( what is now called ) a Macbook Pro' 13in model, not the New White one. I just used the word Macbook, did not mean to confuse you, sorry about that.
Steve

FW 800/400 speed

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